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Breaking News:Gambia:Armed Police take charge of Independent Newspaper Building again!!
By Correspondent Parteh Jallow, Banjul.
Paid For And Commissioned by The Freedom
Newspaper.

The closed Independent Newspaper on MDI Road, has attracted armed Para Military police who are now stationed at the building to watch for what no one has confirmed. Well Armed Para military police men were seen changing guard at the unused Independent Newspaper building, as they have brushed the entrance leading to the door, where they sit or stand in the shade of the bush to keep watch for their enemies, probably journalists.

According to an observer who prefers anonymity, the police were deployed there recently and they posed a threat to the area, because they have not understood why armed police should be stationed at a banned newspaper's premises. This he said, shows the hatred for that media house and those who owned it. Others say the authorities are bent on showing their hatred for the media fraternity as long as they do not support them by writing less challenging articles in their name.

It could be recalled that the Independent Newspaper had suffered a lot in the hands of the Jammeh regime. Armed men had attacked them and poured petrol on their machine to burn. Many of their members fled the country as they finally closed the newspaper. Even when the newspaper is closed it keeps poising a big threat to the authorities. This new deployment of armed police is a clear manifestation of a hidden anger against the once vibrant and honest paper that was short lived. The armed police refused to speak to this reporter for fear of their authorities.

According to some men in touch with the police stationed there, the deployment came as a result of the photo published on the Freedom newspaper some time ago. They believe that a lot can come out of this if no one was placed there to keep watch and night vigil too. The Freedom Newspaper Banjul based reporter had earlier visited the Independent Newspaper offices, which is now reduced to a ghost office. He took photographs of the premises, which attracted an immediate reaction from the state. It deployed armed guards at the Independent. These guards have mounted 24 vigil at the Independent, even though there was no activities taking place at the former leading news outlet.

The publishers of the Independent Baba Galleh Jallow and Alagi Yoro Jallow are currently residing in the US, while two of the paper's Editors had been forced into exile. Journalist Makalo and Musa Saidy-Khan suffered untold persecution from the hands of the NIA before leaving the country. Other Independent staffers had been rendered unemployed due to the closure of the paper.

Meanwhile people are wondering as to when the once renowned Independent Newspaper would hit the Gambian readership. But critics believe that its coming back remains a conjecture. In view of the current hostile media situation in the country, it's very unlikely for the Independent to hit the newsstand again. The Gambian authorities are not keen at entertaining the paper again. They closed their doors to local journalists trying to solicit for the re-opening of the Independent. All hopes for the re-opening of the Independent have dased away. Only God knows when the Independent would hit the newsstand again.

The editor can be reached at the following addresses:editor@freedomnewspaper.com,Panderry@hotmail.com or panderrymbai@gmail.com By phone dial the following numbers: Office:-919-872-50-28 Cell: 919-798-81-22 If you know that it's happening or is about to happen please contact us. It's easy. Just type your info on our contact us file and then click send. The Freedom Newspaper is your leading and most authoritative source of news. We have the required professionals to serve you round the clock. Get your morning breakfast news by reading Freedom. We have good stuffs every morning. At Freedom, we mean business.

Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 (Archive on Monday, November 05, 2007)
Posted by PNMBAI Contributed by PNMBAI

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